


Public Private Relations

by Loopy



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, M/M, OT3, POV Mai (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29101920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loopy/pseuds/Loopy
Summary: Mai wants both Zuko and Sokka. It would be a lot easier if they want each other, too. But there's nothing easy about trying to make it happen.Except making a mess of things, of course.
Relationships: Mai/Sokka (Avatar), Mai/Sokka/Zuko, Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18
Collections: ATLA Polyamory Fics, Avatar Rarepair Exchange 2021





	Public Private Relations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Thingsareswinging](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thingsareswinging/gifts).



**Public Private Relations**

The scandal started with a library, which was probably where Mai went wrong in the first place. A good scandal didn't start in a place like a library. Too many books, for one thing. People who spent time around that many books just weren't the types to land themselves into any real good trouble, and everyone knew it.

Still, she had to work with what she had. And planning had never been one of her strengths. Plans were what other people did; she specialized in spectacular feats of villainy and/or heroism when those plans fell apart. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

She found Zuko and Sokka in the library late one night, side by side at a table with a massive book that -- she checked -- had no pictures. This seemed to be the culmination of a Thing that had started at dinner with a stupid idea, spiraled into a stupid conversation, and had sent them both on a stupid research quest to prove one or the other or both wrong about something. Mai herself had forgotten what the whole Stupid Thing was about, as she'd never been interested in the first place and then spent the hours after dinner reading the latest reports from the Fire Ministry of Intelligence.

That apparently made her the unexpected winner of this little marathon, because she was still awake and the boys had fallen asleep together right on top of the book.

They were sitting right next to each other, close enough that their shoulders had probably been brushing against each other, and had folded up at exactly the corrects angles so that their sleeping heads were facing each other, their foreheads touching right at the book's binding. Had it been a painting, Mai would have criticized the artist for the contrivance.

She took a moment to think about how stupid these boys were, getting so involved in their (Stupid) Thing that they fell asleep right in the middle of reading a book.

Then, with that out of the way, she took an even longer moment to admire them.

Both were so handsome that strangers turned their heads in the streets to watch them walk by. Visits to a beach, and the associated lack of decent clothing, got them even more attention. And, to make things worse, they were both completely oblivious to how attractive they looked- for a given definition of 'worse' that actually meant 'better,' because somehow that kind of attitude just added to the attractiveness. Zuko thought the scar on his face made him ugly, which was definitely not true on the macro-level (and Mai's own tastes even made it work on the micro-level, although there was nothing micro about him). Sokka had the kind of anxiety that made him doubt himself if he didn't get a compliment every ten minutes or so, which made him overcompensate in ways that were typically hilarious for those with a twisted sense of humor (and Mai's sense of humor could have been used to pull corks from wine bottles).

And their attractiveness wasn't just limited to their looks, either.

Mai was married to Zuko, making her the Fire Lady of the Fire Nation (the Fire Nation _also_ had that kind of anxiety, specifically one that made it doubt people would remember the whole 'Fire' thing if it didn't remind them every five minutes or so). She had known him her whole life, or as much of it as she could remember, and so was well aware of how sweet he could be when he wasn't scowling, growling, or prowling. And the scowling, growling, and prowling were exciting in completely different ways she hadn't discovered until she was a teenager and understood what boys and girls got up to when they were alone. She was quite familiar with how much he cared for people, including people he didn't know- even people he hated, which never failed to look like a magic trick to her. And she knew that his most fervent desire was to be loved. She was more than happy to be one of those love-providers, especially for the love she got in return. In fact, loving him had at various points in her life been her only source of happiness.

Now that they were married, the only fear she had left in her life was that someone would take Zuko away from her.

What she _should_ have been afraid of was driving him away herself. Because all of her love for Zuko (which hadn't diminished at all over the years, and she checked the levels daily and topped them off when needed) somehow hadn't stopped her for developing similar feelings for Sokka, as well.

She had only met him during the war. Or, to be more precise, she only became aware of his existence during the war. He had been just another enemy, albeit one she could respect because his chosen weapon was a bit of sharp metal he threw through the air, as was only right and proper. Then, at the Boiling Rock, he became one of Zuko's allies, someone whose life she saved as part of a package deal with saving Zuko. It was only _after_ the war that she had gotten to know him as a real person with thoughts and feelings and whatever. And they had, against all odds, become something like friends.

She had learned about all his contradictions. He was a genius in many ways, but also a buffoon- a _real_ buffoon, complete with _real_ pratfalls, like a fictional character come to life. He was uncomfortable receiving affection, but his penchant for hugging people was set at Ty Lee-levels, where any little moment of happiness was enough to make him want to squeeze someone. And he was driven to protect everyone in his life with _all_ of his life, if necessary, somehow missing that they'd all rather die for him instead. Also, he was hilarious; he observed the world the same way Mai did, with the expectation that all of reality had been put together in a shoddy rush solely to annoy them, and he'd often call out such things in as dry a manner as possible.

It was the humor that had started to push him into her heart, she was sure. The rest of it had simply let him settle in there and put his feet up on the table. By the time she found herself actively suppressing smiles around him so that no one would know how delighted he made her, she was all the way gone.

And yet it hadn't lessened any of what was in her heart for Zuko. She still couldn't stop smiling around him, either, and even his most casual touch was enough to make her bounce with excitement. She still got angry whenever the world didn't give Zuko exactly what he wanted, and it broke her heart to see him disappointed, especially when he was disappointed in himself.

It was quite a conundrum. No one had ever told her what she was supposed to do about having feelings like this for two people. The general wisdom seemed to be that you picked one person who made you happiest -- which often meant picking the richest one available, although for some people it came down to looks -- but she had never thought much of the general wisdom.

And another thing Mai liked about both of these boys was that they didn't think much of general wisdom, either.

Could they-

Really?

Maybe?

Such thoughts had been bouncing in her head when she found them practically snuggled together in the library. So she made an attempt at a plan. She left them at the table with the book, their heads lightly resting against each other. She found a blanket and draped it over both of them. She got a couple of clean hankies and positioned them carefully under their mouths in case of drooling (because Mai very much respected books and did not respect drool). And then she left.

Left them for the morning.

* * *

Perhaps she shouldn't have expected a scandal. After all, she was never good at creating one that didn't involve throwing sharp metal at the wrong people.

The servants spoke about it the next day, but not in a way that made it sound like anything particularly sensational. At least, not while Mai was lurking around listening. In fact, the servants seemed mostly put out that they'd had to reschedule the late-night dusting of that library table, and Mai didn't even know they _had_ dusting schedules; she was a little scared to learn this.

And Sokka and Zuko themselves didn't seem anything more than mildly chagrined about it, despite practically waking up in a position that was just a little lip-contact short of a kiss.

"Sorry, I didn't come to bed last night," was all Zuko said to her next the morning when he arrived in their bedroom to wash his face and change. "Sokka and I were up late settling our debate."

At breakfast, Sokka added, "Do you have mice in the palace? Because I think one stuck a hanky under my face while I was sleeping. And that's a mouse I really want to meet."

* * *

Mai's next idea was allowed to bake longer. She preferred her ideas extra crispy, anyway.

What she didn't have any love for was sand, wild water, sunlight, exposing her skin to view, or people being happy around her, so Zuko and Sokka were quite surprised when she suggested a trip to Ember Island. But she explained, "You've both been working so hard- Zuko with being Fire Lord and late night research binges, Sokka with whatever people you fight when you're not hanging around our palace getting into arguments with Fire Lords. A few days on the beach will do you both some good. And I can stay under an umbrella and catch up on the analysis coming from the Intelligence Ministry."

The world wasn't ending -- at the moment -- so they were eventually persuaded to take a little weekend vacation. Mai suspected they were fond of the little Royal Fire Vacation Home (only two wings, and at most a dozen people could stay there and get their own rooms) from the days they spent there with the full Team Avatar, preparing for the return of Sozin's Comet in the last month of the war. They had likely bonded under adversity in those days, stressing about how to oppose the most powerful Firebender in the world and deal with the empowering Comet Magic, not to mention the armies. They had likely spent those days analyzing every angle, grilling Zuko for as much information as he could remember, honing their plan to a razor's edge. Mai couldn't imagine that they'd gotten the chance to enjoy the beach at all. Perhaps the most they'd experienced of it was a longing glance out a window before getting back to their intricate plan to hijack a fleet of airships.

(Mai didn't know the exact details, as she had been in jail at the time.)

Perhaps because of that first denial, Zuko and Sokka very much enjoyed visits to Ember Island, and their mood definitely picked up when they arrived. Zuko, as usual, didn't seem to know what to do on a beach, so Sokka dragged him into mirthful activities. Sokka was very good at being mirthful, when he wasn't predicting imminent doom for them all. Mai overall tended to prefer his doomy-moods, but she could definitely handle mirth when it involved him running around in just a pair of short-pants. As a bonus, Zuko's pants were also quite short, and there were no shirts anywhere close to his vicinity.

Mai spent the afternoon watching the boys cavort while pretending to read the analysis write-ups she'd brought. Then when the sun started giving unfriendly jostles to the horizon, she stood up and called to them (they were involved in sculpting some kind of elaborate sand-fortress structure and were arguing about the proper technique for carving the war sigils into the outer walls) that it was time to go into town and get some dinner.

Sokka perked up at the mention of dinner, another thing that made him so attractive, because eating was a lot more fun than most things.

But Zuko looked over to her with a frown and said, "We brought a whole staff of servants. We could just stay here and have them make whatever we want. With rose petals on top?"

Mai gave him a Look. Husbands who offered unwanted helpful alternatives deserved getting a Look, even if they remembered fond little moments from their shared days of new love. "I want dinner from that place. You know, the one I like? The fancy one that does all those spiced meats? And then we can pick up some dessert from that great bakery on the way back."

Zuko blinked. "I didn't know you liked that fancy place so much. Last time you complained that their idea of 'spicy' seemed to have been inspired by my father and you spent all night in the privy sounding like-"

"Yes, it's my favorite place to eat," Mai cut him off before he could finish describing the worst bathroom experience of her life in front of Sokka. "Let's go put on pants-- well, let's get you and Sokka in pants, since I'm already wearing them -- and go eat."

"Wait, how spicy are we talking here?" Sokka said. "I've gotten used to Fire Nation spices, but are we talking 'Ooh get me some water!' spicy or 'Hours later I want to die!' spicy?"

Zuko smirked. "Who are you kidding? You'll eat any meat dish that's put in front of you."

Sokka grinned back. "True. Spicy, burnt, raw- I do enjoy my meat. Do you think- do you think I have some kind of a problem?"

"See," Mai put in. "Sokka needs to experience this. Let's get going."

Sokka looked over to her and the warmth in those blue eyes made her feel like she was wearing a lot less than a chest-wrap, a shoulder-cape, knickers, a sarong, a sensible pair of shoes, and a hair-cap. It reminded her of the way Zuko looked at her just before ordering her desserts with flower petals on them. Was that because of her feelings for him, or could he also- no, that wasn't possible.

Was it?

While she tried very hard not to blush, Sokka said, "You know, you're the most supportive friend I have when it comes to my appetite. I want you to know that I've noticed it, and I appreciate it. Too few people are worried about feeding me."

A smile would probably be the appropriate response, but if Mai moved her lips, she was afraid she throw herself into Sokka's arms and kiss him. So she settled for nodding and eventually remembered to stop.

Zuko barked, "Hey, I brought you a lunch today! It's not just Mai."

Sokka turned to him and winked. "Well, yeah, but you already know I know you know I- sorry, I'm losing track. Anyway, I figure we're already solid. We have to take care of her, too, right?"

"That's true." Zuko let out a hot breath and his shoulders relaxed. And then he moved over to Mai and wrapped his arms around her, managing to find the very narrow and obscure places where here skin was actually bared. His strong body cradled her with a gentleness born of familiarity; he knew the exact places on her where just a little of firmness would support her everything. "Why don't we send servants to bring some back for us? I know you don't like being near other people. Why bother with a restaurant? Let me make this vacation nice for you, too."

Mai definitely should have worn more clothes, maybe a few extra sets to get a proper ten layers. Why did Zuko have to be so good at being good?

"Besides," Sokka said as he brushed some sand from his hair, "I don't do well in fancy restaurants. There's all these rules about where to put your elbows and feet and butt, and I honestly can't be bothered to learn all that stuff."

Mai made the mistake of picturing what was implied by that description, and had to bite back an uncharacteristic urge to guffaw. That would have ruined the performance, and besides, a lady of her preferred elegance should never guffaw. So she swallowed her amusement and fluttering heart (together they were a bit too big for her throat, but she forced it down anyway and hopefully wouldn't meet them again tonight in the privy) and squirmed her way out of Zuko's arms.

As nice as staying home and letting these boy pamper her would be, she had bigger things to fight for. "I want to go to the restaurant and be fancy. If I can't, I'm going to be _cranky._ "

And so they went to the restaurant.

* * *

They had barely been seated when Mai excused herself to the restroom and snuck out a window.

Then she hurried through the streets of New Fire Tourist Town (settlement names hadn't been very creative during Ozai's regime) to a florist, where she arranged to have a dozen roses in a vase rush-delivered right to the table where Zuko and Sokka would be waiting for her, together. If she knew Sokka, he'd have already ordered some food. Then people would see Zuko and Sokka, together in a fancy restaurant with romantic flowers, enjoying a night out in a tropical paradise.

 _That_ would start a scandal, right?

And, perhaps, a little something more?

Mai felt very proud of the plan she'd concocted. She didn't want to brag, but it might even be Azula-levels of clever, except for the fact that no one would die screaming as a result (probably, depending on which appetizer Sokka settled on). She bought herself a dessert from the bakery to celebrate, and figured that by the time she finished it, the whole island should be talking about the Fire Lord romancing a hero of the Southern Water Tribe.

Except, when she returned the restaurant, it turned that Sokka hadn't been exaggerating about not knowing where to park his rear in a fancy restaurant, and the staff had politely asked him and Zuko to leave before the appetizer even got the table. The flowers had enjoyed a quiet dinner of spiced meats by themselves.

Mai was so annoyed that she made Zuko and Sokka buy her another dessert from that great bakery. At least she managed to avoid a prolonged engagement with the privy.

* * *

In the end, it was obvious. She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before. Perhaps her brain needed a little time and space to warm up properly. But, clearly, once it got going, there was no stopping it.

The next time Sokka visited for a bit, she sent a note to one of her favorite, most discreet agents in the Intelligence Ministry, one who wasn't afraid of doing some off-the-books work for her every now and then, with precise instructions to spread rumors to certain gossip-mongers that the Fire Lord was having an affair with a certain Water Tribe adventurer-at-large. She knew _this_ would work, because she was in control of every aspect of the scenario. These gossipers were old school-chums who she'd loathed back in their Academy days, and it was very odd that people could be 'chums' but still hate each, but Mai hated everyone anyway so she wasn't about to push against this particular social convention. Hated or not, though, she knew could rely on these women to never stop talking, even when it was in their best interest. Surely, considering the mess they'd landed themselves in by revealing to the whole Academy that Azula didn't know where babies come from, they must have no self-preservation instincts whatsoever.

 _That_ should create the proper scandal.

And then Zuko and Sokka would be confronted with the idea, and perhaps find the concept to not be so bad. Perhaps they would rather like the thought. Enough to act on it, even.

Then it would be just a simple matter of making sure Zuko was still in love with her, and getting Sokka to fall for her, too. How hard could that be? She'd gotten Zuko smitten with her once already, and she wasn't even sure how she'd done it. She must be a natural. Good thing she threw sharp metal at most people, otherwise she'd probably be up to her waist in suitors.

(Mai had once seen Ty Lee literally up to her _ears_ in suitors, and that had looked mildly terrifying, so a little waist-level modesty seemed just about right for herself.)

Her mistake, in retrospect, was asking the Intelligence Ministry for daily reports on the circulation of the rumors.

* * *

Zuko and Sokka came to her one afternoon looking like they'd lost one of her favorite blade sets _again._ Mai sat up on her lounging chair and tensed her arms in case she had to stab someone and said, "What did you do?"

Zuko bowed his head. "I- I want to apologize for dishonoring you." His voice was low and tired, the tone he took when he felt utterly defeated.

"Yeah," Sokka put in, "me, too." He inclined his head at an angle that was just short of deferential, but the expression on his face was so miserable even his sister would be moved to pity.

Mai eyed them. "If this is about one of my blade sets-"

"No, it's- it's worse than that." Zuko actually got to his knees in front of her, an act of contrition that had so many bad memories associated with it for him that Mai was tempted to kiss him and forgive him and cuddle him before even hearing what he'd done. She wanted to stab the person who'd made him upset, which was awkward because it was apparently herself, and she got queasy at the sight of her own blood when it was spurting out at high pressure.

But Sokka was there, too, and even though he was still on his feet, his whole body slumped like someone just told him that his boomerang was missing. (Thankfully, he'd forgiven her for that little incident.) She wasn't accustomed to offering him physical comfort, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be hard to figure out on the fly.

And with both boys tugging at her heart like that, she found herself suspended in the middle. On a lounging chair.

"Just tell me what's going on," she finally managed.

They glanced at each other.

Eventually, Zuko said, "I got the audit from the Intelligence ministry that included- well, I learned about the reports you've been requesting. About us. Me and- me and Sokka, I mean. I- I'm so sorry, I never meant to make you doubt our marriage, but I know I'm the one at fault here, and I-"

"It's not Zuko," Sokka interrupted, rushing over to grab Mai's hands and turn wet, pleading blue eyes on her. "He's an idiot and frankly I think the only reason he managed to get into a successful romantic relationship is because you did all the hard work! It's me, I'm the one to blame! I should have left you two alone-"

"I'm responsible for my feelings," Zuko took up, getting to his feet, "and no one else! And I should have been in control of those feelings, and-"

"Well, let's not go crazy, here," Sokka put in, letting go of Mai and turning to face Zuko. "Yeah, we've been harboring an illicit extra-marital love for each other for a while now, but it's not like we _did_ anything. So we had _some_ control, as it was, so all we need to apologize for-"

"Is _everything,_ " Zuko pronounced with a frown, taking an aggressive step forward so that his nose was practically touching Sokka's. "I take full responsibility for everything I did, everything I didn't do, and whatever you did or didn't do, too."

Sokka put his hands on his hips. "Are you trying to push me around?"

"I'm trying to save you!" Zuko threw his hands into the air with the full power of his natural sense of drama. "I love you!"

"Well," Sokka snorted, "I love you and I'm trying to save _you!_ You're married to the best girl in the world and I won't let you throw it away for me!"

Silence reigned for a long moment.

Then Mai started clapping. To her surprise as well as the boys. They looked at her with adorable blushes on their faces.

Sokka stepped back and managed, "I- uh- I mean- I'm trying- trying to save- um, your marriage?"

"I-" Zuko looked back and forth between Sokka and Mai. "Me too? And also- protect- Argh! I don't know, I'm not good at saying nice things without thinking about them first!"

Mai sighed. "Yeah, we know. And I think I have an idea about what's going on. I just want to know one thing: How long? How long has this been going on?"

Zuko and Sokka looked at each other again.

"Ember Island?"

"No, the argument and late-night research project."

"Eh, now that I think about it, that argument was kind of emotionally charged. I think it was about more than what were actually arguing about."

"True. The moment in the training room, that had to be the start, right?"

"Now that you mention it- no, it was before that. Remember the day in the park garden?"

"Oh, yeah. _That_ was a good day, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

Sokka and Zuko were both grinning like idiots. Then they remembered they were apparently trying to appeal to Mai, schooled their expressions into something like misery, and turned back to look at her.

She, by this time, was clutching her head. "That long- You two have been hot for each other that long _and I've been missing out?_ "

Zuko whispered to Sokka, "That's not what I expected her to say."

"Yeah, she's always been a bit weird. In a good way," Sokka whispered back.

Mai hopped off her lounging chair and kicked it over. Then she threw herself forward with outspread arms and managed to catch both boys in her embrace.

And they apparently weren't expecting her to do that, because they topped over like all her illusions about her perceptiveness.

Still, she was never one to let a little misplaced gravity get in her way. On top of them on the floor, she dropped a kiss down on Zuko's lips that quickly had him radiating heat. He kissed her back, strongly and longingly, and it would have been easy to continue. But Mai let herself drift back, riding the warmth in her heart over to Sokka, who she kissed just as fiercely. He hesitated for a moment, and then surged into the embrace with an eagerness that could have almost been a prank, if it wasn't for the way he so reluctantly pulled back when she finally did.

Both boys looked up at her with wide eyes.

"I think we've _all_ been very oblivious," she said when she caught her breath.

Zuko blinked. "Oh."

Sokka nodded. "Good."

Mai let herself rest in the little space between their chests, where she could hear both of their heartbeats. "But, um, I need to apologize, too. Or maybe not. I _might_ have kind of informed the rest of high society about this already. So, it's nice for that to already be taken care of, right?"

**END**


End file.
